Ever since school got out, I’ve been reading Oscar Wilde: I’ve read all his comedies, and I’m in the middle of The Portrait of Dorian Gray. Wilde was so clever. I’ve watched several movie versions of The Importance of Being Earnest and The Ideal Husband. You see, Oscar Wilde is going to be a minor (or perhaps major, it’s too early to tell) character in my next novel. It takes place in 1880 London and is the story of two women who trade places for a week, each pretending to be the other, and the mayhem that follows. I started writing yesterday and got a good 1000+ words in.

I’ve had so much fun doing my research, that I’ve had trouble getting started on this novel. I like to immerse myself in a time period by reading that time period exclusively and intensely. Wilde’s work is perfect, because he has a strong and unique voice. I’m trying to get his voice to move into my own head, so when I write, I write in a Wilde-esque manner.

The problem for me is balancing the immersion and the writing. Beginning to write is hard, so I’m always tempted to sit and read and use that as an excuse to delay my writing. I think that if I were able to write full-time, I would have an easier time of it. I’m good at sticking to a schedule once I have made one: maybe mornings for research/reading/immersion and afternoons for writing. Or maybe immersion on Tues/Thurs and writing on Mon/Wed/Fri. What a dream that would be!

As it is, I have two weeks until classes start again, and next week I will need to be on campus doing prep and attending meetings. So, I have what is left of this week to try and get things really going, going in such a strong way that my brain can stay focused on my story and characters and my Wilde-esque voice.

So, it’s time to log off this blog and get writing!